Business is F*cking Hard-Article #3

Decisions are the Hardest Part--COVID Chronicles

I am reluctant to use the current buzz words, such as “unprecedented” or “challenging” or “fluid” but, the reality is, they all apply.

As a business owner of two small businesses and the senior executive of two business associations, throughout this unprecedented, challenging and fluid time, I have found the hardest part to be the decisions that are having to be made.

There are the number of decisions, which is unprecedented, there is the type of decisions, which is fluid and then there are the decisions that are being made by others that directly affect us and our decisions, which is challenging.

Rightly or wrongly, this is my strategy: let everyone within your sphere make the decisions that they feel are best for them to navigate this maze, without judgement. Some decisions you make will be based on their decisions and some decisions you make will affect the decisions of others.

Here are some examples:

The Iron Office is a gym we own in Saskatchewan and, under government intervention, was forced to close. This was a government decision that will affect me, I will not judge. As a result, I will not charge members any fees for the foreseeable future. As a result, I cannot afford my rent and will not pay it. A decision I make that will affect my landlord (also my company).

As a landlord to many commercial tenants, I am getting asked if I will provide a rent abatement as a result of the circumstances. My response is no. The harsh reality is that I believe this is not my decision to make. I cannot afford to provide this relief to the tenants, even if I was so inclined. However, if they cannot afford to pay their rent and that is a difficult decision they need to make, I will not judge and will attempt to make adjustments to accommodate their decision.

In my role as CEO of two REALTOR? Associations, the decisions I make may ultimately affect the conduct and livelihood of nearly 700 Realtors in the province. I do not take this lightly. I trust that each one of them are making difficult decisions related to their business and practices every single day, as the circumstances evolve. However, I have made decisions that will impact them and will continue to do so, if needed.

As time goes on, more decisions will need to be made that will affect many in my sphere. The basis for all of these decisions will be the health and safety of those impacted. I will be judged on some of the decisions I make, I am okay with that. I have just chosen not to judge others on their decisions…because there is no right or wrong in today’s world, there is just decide and move forward.

When this is all over and we can clearly see the fallout, there will be people who are unemployed, there will be people suffering financially, there will be many bankruptcies (I am totally prepared to be one of them), there will be hard feelings and there will be lessons. I am going to be profoundly impacted and I will impact others. The part I am trying to wrap my head around is that, I am taking complete solace in the fact that I am not alone. I am comforted by the fact that if/when I go bankrupt, I will be one of many. If/when I must stop paying bills, I will not be alone. If/when I must lay off employees or cancel services, others will too.

Leadership today will be demonstrated by those not judging, not complaining, not deflecting. Make the decisions, own the consequences and don’t act like you are the only one in the world that has to be doing so. We are quite literally all in this together. It is time to be a leader.